After a business career and a lifetime of traditional gardening, I’ve embarked on a journey to become a garden ecologist and native-plant landscape designer.

Here, I am recounting the story and lessons learned from my 2-acre landscape on Cape Cod, in the hope it may inspire others and spark community discussion.  The focus is on:

·         Making my landscape count ecologically – restoring the back 1.5 acres of abandoned farmland to a small coastal woodland, and making the front half-acre of ornamental gardens more ecologically useful

·         Doing this with conscious design intent, incorporating my love of bloom and the glory of flowering plants, but using primarily native plants

In addition to my own gardening, I volunteer with the horticulture staff at the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, where I serve as a regular zone gardener and as a horticultural writer. I also volunteer with the Chatham Conservation Foundation, and serve on the Board of the Friends of Sylvan Gardens, a conservation area in Chatham MA. I hold a Certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from the New England Wild Flower Society.

— Cathy Weston